Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? Alvin and I are well. We slept through till 3:00 a.m. and then at 5:00 a.m. from the sofa, I heard this low noise and jumped up as I realized it was the alarm clock on my phone. When I get to the office I turn the sound for notification and such, all the way down so that I do not disturb anyone should the phone “ring.” I must ask my daughter if there is any other way to do this function. Remember I am not the most tech savvy person on the planet. Not even remotely close! Anyway, I reset the alarm to 5:15 for an extra few minutes and then we were up. Mr. Alvin had his breakfast and then we went outside. Once back into the house, made our bed, brushed my teeth and then hit the shower. That felt good. I stopped showering everyday a while ago as I found that my skin got dry and who likes dry skin. When we were outside around 5:25, I noticed that the stars seemed to be more bright and noticeable than usual. I wonder if there are more satellites in the sky now? Perhaps not even stars but man made objects taking up space above us. The moon did not appear to be anywhere in sight? I scanned the sky with my eagle eyes (lol) – with my glasses on. I did attempt to take a photo with my phone but all I got was black. We are having a great morning thus far.
Yesterday when I arrived home from work, I unlocked the door and called out to Mr. Alvin. He did not come and I called him several times. I thought that I saw him standing at the window but wasn’t sure. My heart sank to my toes for a brief moment or three. Kicking off my shoes, I walked into the living room and over to the chairs by the window and there he was standing looking out the window. I thought he would have saw me or maybe I made it to the door as he was going to the window, not sure. Anyway, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw him standing up and breathing. My mind went to a place that I was scared to even think about at this time. Anyway, all is well. Perhaps the boy’s hearing is going. I noticed that when he was in my bathroom this morning waiting for me to get ready. He was laying on one of the small rugs and when I spoke to him, he did not move. When I lightly touched him he jumped. I walked around him so that he could see me from the front and he did not immediately jump up. Today I am noticing his age. My poor boy. The joys of getting older! We had a good night. I took him outside right away for a pee and then fed him his supper before we head out for a walk. OMG, it was so beautiful outside last night after work. I am getting home by 4:30 which is early. When I carpooled before, it was usually 5:00 or later. Definitely helps catching a ride with someone you directly work with that is for sure. I am grateful that at least at night I am only losing 1/2 hour of personal time. The morning well that is a different story and time away from Alvin a total other story. Yesterday my neighbour Sonja popped by a couple of times to check on him, make sure he goes outside, has something to eat and to drink and then she has snuggle time. I appreciate that. We are like family and she feels like a daughter to me. We both love her very much. She is a kind-hearted lovely human being. I am so grateful that I am surrounded by good people. Very grateful.
Tonight after work, my daughter is picking me up from work. We are going to get some keys cut as I want to ensure that everyone looking after Alvin has a key so that I don’t have to play “chase the key” when the schedule changes. Amanda is sleeping over and I am so excited. Last night I made a huge apple crisp with some of the apples from my friend Pauline. I had to try some even though it was late to eat at 8:07 p.m. Turned out pretty good, I must say.
Well time to head on downstairs so that I can take Mr. Alvin outside again. He will need to poop (yes, I am talking about that subject again, lol) again before I leave for work. Remember p-o-o-p is important to keep track of – it can tell you so much about your health.
I hope that you have a great Friday. Another sunny warm fall day on the way. I am so happy.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
Thank goodness coffee is free at work especially with the soaring prices.
Always, Carol & Alvin
PS: thank you for this day and I am grateful it is almost the weekend.
Good Morning ALL! I hope that you are doing well. Another beautiful morning out there which will be great for our walk in a few minutes. As the day progresses it is forecasted to be 32 degrees celsius with a humidex factor of 35. That will not be fun and I am hoping that because the house is relatively cool at this moment that it will remain that way for several hours. After this week it looks like the high temperatures will have dissipated. It is not that I want to see summer disappear but not many people do well in those temperatures especially when we see them so seldom during the course of a year. I do however, look forward to fall or autumn and hopefully it will last until December. A girl can dream.
I do love fall. The crisp early mornings and the easy warm days and the cool evenings. The leaves on the trees turn to the most glorious colours. The bunnies start in time to turn white for winter. The air, the sights and the sounds and the fragrances of fall are so enticing. Pumpkin and spices.
Last night one of my friend’s came over for a visit. We had more of a “venting” session but that is okay as we both clearly needed to get some things off of our chests. Sometimes you just need to get it out. Nothing serious – just the little things – those things that eat at your mind – causing more damage in the long run. So happy that we spoke our truths and said what we needed to say. We also talked about her sons returning to school tomorrow. Christmas. The weather. So there were definitely some positive thoughts going about the conversation. Not all negative. I would like to think that venting or getting things off of your chest is not a negative action but rather a positive way to dump the negative energy without anyone getting harmed in any way.
On this sunny Tuesday, Alvin and I are going to enjoy our walk. I filled his water bottle and have his pooping bags just in case. More often than not, I use one of them to pick up trash. Today is garbage day in our neighborhood so hopefully it will not be windy and blow about the recycling. There is always someone who just lays things loosely in a cardboard box or a blue bin. Always someone!
Well I am going to grab the fan and take it downstairs, instruct Mr. Alvin to come downstairs and then get ready for our walk.
I wish you a glorious day. Remember always good to remove the negative energy / thoughts from your mind. If you can release those thoughts by “venting” them with a good friend – then you are definitely going to feel better.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus, possibilities and coffee.
As the sun fills the morning sky I bid you adieu!
Always, Carol & Alvin
PS: so grateful for such great people that surround me.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? Both Alvin and I are well. The clear blue morning sky has overtaken the beautiful hues the sunrise. The trees are standing still. Tomorrow is the first day of spring, I believe. Oh, how I long for dry sidewalks and green grass. Then Alvin and I will be able to head out for walks at lunchtime and after work. Soon we will have flowers and perhaps even some pots with an arrangement of herbs and vegetables. It will depend on when I can get out and pick these items up. Some things I can likely start from seed although in pots, I am not sure how that will work. Likely time to start doing some research so that in a few weeks when it is time, I am prepared and know what to do. Or at least consult with the experts and find out the best approach. I do love that about the internet, about Google Search.
As I look out of the office window I see deep ruts about six or so inches deep in the back lane. Driving in the back lane is not fun. I did chip away some of the ice that was on my driveway. At least the high banks of snow that lined our driveways in the back have almost all melted. Now out front is quite another story. Some of my neighbours including me were outside after work last night trying to get rid of some of the ice. With the snow still melting from our backyards and front lawns and with the windrows lining the public sidewalks and with us facing north, it has made our work darn near impossible. We all worry about getting ticketed for our sidewalks not been clear but it is not an easy task. We all agreed that this has been the worst year that we could remember. What can you do? When we head out for a walk yesterday right after work, we walked on the path that I had made on the windrow and then onto the street. We had no choice. Too difficult to walk on the sidewalk and I need my hips intact as does Mr. Alvin. We walked carefully on the street with me watching for cars. On the north side of the street that faces south and is mostly dry we walked. We actually were able to walk and make a couple of loops and then on our way home, we bumped into Carter and his Mom out for a walk. So we ended up walking together and actually walking on the street just north of us and around and back again a few times. So actually felt like we had a walk. It was nice to catch with our friends.
Last night after supper and dishes we just watched some of the shows that I recorded. A nice quiet evening. I appreciate quiet evenings.
So today there is laundry and cleaning and in the afternoon when the sun’s rays has softened the ice, I will attempt to break down more of the snow out front so that the ice will melt and possibly I may be able to uncover the storm drain. I found the entrance point last night and chip away some of the ice and snow. Most of the snow has melted from the deck so we are losing Alvin’s temporary bathroom. There is so much snow and ice on the little patch of grass that I am not sure if can clear it or not. The forecast is for more snow tomorrow. For anyone reading and thinking that I am using the deck as a bathroom for Alvin and how gross is that know this: I clean up the poop and throw it in the garbage can. We only do this while there is several inches of snow and ice on the deck and only when we are not able to access the grassy area. We have also been sitting on the steps to the grassy area at my lunch break enjoying the sunshine. For at least the last two days anyway.
Well it is time to get this day going. Mr. Alvin is barking and no sure why. He does a lot of that as he gets older. Oh, yesterday he really wanted to play with one of his toys. It was so cute and so much fun. Perhaps we all get more childlike as we age even dogs. I appreciate that.
Have a great Saturday. I think at some point, I am going to bake some chocolate chip raisin cookies.
Happy Saturday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus and possibilities.
Always, Carol & Alvin
P.S. Remember this each day is full of possibilities. If yesterday was crappy – today is not. Today can be whatever you want it to be. I am dreaming of possibilities.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? Alvin and I are well. Happy that today is Friday and that the weekend is almost here. The sunrise is beautiful. Pale colours that give a warmth to the morning. Love them.
Some weeks do seem longer even though each day is the same. Part of being human the ying and the yang of it all. We struggle with the work / life balance. Why is it that we spend more of our days, months and years working to earn money to live our lives, to enjoy those short two days called the weekend? Well obviously I know the answer but it still remains a mystery as to why things have not changed. We are in 2022. Just coming out of a pandemic. Why not work 4 and get 3 off or any combination! Increasing the time off for people to relax and enjoy their “home” life is so important. Especially with the rate of mental health issues rising each year. If you are able to hire more so that your staff can have a better work / home balance, please do so. We used to work a bit of extra time every day and get every second Friday or Monday off and that was great. Then you could do appointments on that day or some of them plus errands and then have your weekend to do maybe some “fun” stuff. Anyway, I am sure that you get the idea. It always amazes me how in 2022 we have not figured it all out. When will we and will we do it in time? I am not sure. I suppose as long as corporations are just looking to make money – then it will not happen. To all those corporations and businesses out there who give your staff extra time and ensure their life / work balance is more equal, I applaud you. Thank you Now we just need to get others on board.
I love looking at the sky. We had a full moon last night. It was so great to be able to actual see the moon and the night sky. Maybe not many stars likely all satellites and such. I am so grateful that I live near the outskirts of this city as it allows me to actually see the sky and some stars.
Time to slide over to the other desk and get things ready for work. Another sip of coffee.
Last night after work, I did some ice chipping out front and behind my house. What an endless job. It is going to take a bit of time before that is gone. The ruts in the back lane are horrendous.
Have a great Friday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, love, laughter, understanding, gratitude, focus and possibilities.
Always, Carol & Alvin
P.S. we even found right after work a place to walk where we did not get soaked. YAY us.
Good Morning ALL! Well we had a pretty fair sleep. Went to bed about 9:20 upstairs, up at 2:00 and outside and then to the sofa and then up at 5:45. I could not believe my eyes and was blinking as though it were wrong. Despite the longer sleep, I did find it difficult to get up and get going. So I kept clicking on “SNOOZE” until finally it was after 7:00 and I knew that I had to get the old fanny farkle up off the sofa. Funny thing is I was not really tired, not sick, not achy, just simply wanted to remain on the sofa snuggled next to Alvin. Perhaps it was being toasty warm and comfy, I do not know but anyway here I am and it is after 7:30. I am washed and dressed and writing this post.
The sun is coming up and the southern sky boasts a lower white with hint of orange on the horizon while as you raise your eyes upward it becomes the most glorious blue with wisps of white clouds. So pretty. I am so grateful that we have such beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I do love seeing photos of them from all over the world because they are all amazing and unique. Considering it is the same sky! The trees are more colorful with each passing day.
Yesterday was a good productive day. In fact, the whole weekend was productive. I did not get anything done outside but inside, I rocked. The outside will be there next weekend.
We did not walk yesterday. We should have, I guess, I know. I finally took the hand held steamer that my kids gave me for Mother’s Day and was cleaning sinks and toilets with ease. I was upstairs cleaning when I heard a noise and turned around to see Alvin standing there and then realized when I carried the vacuum upstairs I had not completely blocked to upstairs. ARGH. He had climbed all the way up. I did not see him so have no idea if he struggled or not. He did not appear to be any worse for it but stairs and that many are not on his list. He can do a few and I let him do the ones outside but not in the house. I carried him upstairs to bed last night. I was so happy that he used the padded bench at the foot of our bed to get up and down plus I lifted him down once. Anyway, cannot beat myself up about it. He seemed to be happy as I think he is getting tired of being carried and lifted up and down from things. We both are actually “tired” of the whole thing and I am so grateful that he is doing so well. But in order to keep things going in that direction, I must be 100% diligent. The gate is up and he is downstairs. Not a peep. Sleeping?
This is going to be a strange week. Tomorrow I work the 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. shift (the last one before it is being cut from our schedule, thank goodness), Wednesday I took off as a vacation day as I am having the furnace and vents cleaned, Thursday we are off as it is the National Reconciliation Day and then I work on Friday. Kind of a nice work schedule this week.
I hope that you enjoyed the photos yesterday. Every time I look at my truck painting, I am feeling better about my artistic attempt. I suppose if I painted more often, I would get better. Likely, I suppose.
Well time to head back downstairs. Definitely need coffee this morning. I hope that you are doing great and that you had a productive, fun and relaxing weekend. Ours was wonderful. Even watched a couple of movies along the way. We walked as well.
Have a wonderful day.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, understanding, love, laughter and gratitude.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? I was hoping that we would have had more sleep last night with less ups and downs but not the case. I think he was up more and likely due in part to not having any medication. Alvin does not appear to be in any pain and his neck seems to be okay, so I did not give him medication before bed. The moon was full last night and I think it has an effect on all creatures to some extent. Anyway we watched a good portion of the Canadian Federal Elections before retiring to bed about 9:30 p.m. I was excited to read more of my book before going to sleep. Alvin was good but I did notice that my left shoulder was hurting a bit and likely due to carrying Alvin up and down the stairs. I kind of put him on my left shoulder. Looking like not the best of ideas. I had turned out the light and it only seems like minutes but it was about two hours later and he woke up. He stood at the end of the bed and I was able to coax him back to bed but not much later or so it seemed, the same thing so before long we were outside enjoying the full moon. Then back upstairs to bed. The next time we got up was about 3:00 a.m. and at that time after going outside – we laid down on the sofa. I did notice the first time we came in from outside that he stood by the sofa (likely thinking we were going to lay down there but instead we went upstairs). I am beginning to think that he likes sleeping on the sofa. Well it is closer to go in and outside and less stress on my body carrying him up and down the stairs. But I do not wish to give up on sleeping in my own bed. I love my bedroom plus I want to read my book. There is no way that he would sleep downstairs without me. Not even an option as that thought may have crossed your mind as it has done mine. Anyway, that is our saga ….
The sunrise is gorgeous this morning. The darkness has not as yet left the sky or perhaps there are some rain clouds forming. But as I look out of my office window all I see is beauty. Dark blue to pink shades in the morning sky. Yes, I am upstairs on the computer. I just felt like I need to write on my computer. Typing my blog on my phone is just frustrating. There still seems to be problems with keyings. The hesitation or the deletion of letters and then words drives me mad. So there have been no peeps from the boy which is good. Plus I get to look out of my office window and admire the morning sky. We should be close to the first day of fall. I do not remember off hand what the date is officially. Just quickly googled on my phone and it is actually tomorrow, Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021.
I have been watching the temperature lows so that I can get my Canas Lily (plant) into the basement before it freezes. There are still a couple of pots of flowers to pull but they are still blooming and I just do not have the heart to do it. Maybe on the weekend.
I hope that life is treating you with grace and respect. I just keep thinking if I could have a good night sleep. Perhaps I need to change my thought and keep thinking / saying “thank you for the good night sleep.” I am grateful for the good night sleep. Trying to keep those thoughts positive and in line with what you want is sometimes a challenge. Mind over matter. Yup.
Okay, time to go. I actually for the first time in a bit am not running late which is wonderful. I can go downstairs and put on the coffee and get set up for work a bit early.
Have a wonderful Tuesday.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion, patience, gratitude, love and laughter.
Always, Carol & Alvin
P.S. I have to figure out how to select “category” on my phone when doing this post so that they are not miscellaneous. LOL
Good Morning ALL! How are you this gorgeous bright sunny Thursday morning ( lol, I almost typed Wednesday)? Both Alvin and I are well. We got a good night sleep. Very grateful for the sleep. Always a great way to begin one’s day with a good night sleep. Alvin and I had a good walk yesterday and even though the temperature was in the single plus digits celsius it felt warm. By mid afternoon it was about 17+ celsius. Everyone was out walking. I had ordered my supper through SKIP THE DISHES. First time. I found out that between the delivery charge, the tip and taxes there was way less left on the gift card that I had received from my employer and I did not know how it all worked so I had to keep changing my order to have it fall within the “budget.” I thought by the charge of the food that some of the charges were included in the total but guess not. I am not sure that I would use this service again. Besides I am not one to order out for food. I do like ordering a pizza from Royal Pizza (best pizza place) once in awhile but other than that, I prefer to eat at home, something that I made even it was toast and eggs. Anyway, it was a nice change. At the end of it ….. I guess I helped give someone some earnings so it was worth it.
There is not much on our plate today other than regular old work. I am in the sixth week of training someone at work. Tomorrow I actually go into the office. My neighbour is going to check in on Alvin. He will definitely need to go outside to pee and need a treat during the time that I am away.
Saturday is supposed to be +18 or so and I have invited my two friends over for an outside coffee/tea visit in the morning on the deck. I have more than enough room to ensure that everyone is comfortable and is physically distanced from each other to keep within the restrictions set out by our health care professionals and government officials. I cannot wait. To share some stories and laugh, to laugh. Alvin is a pretty good story teller but laughing not so much.
Keeping on smiling and laughing and staying well. Take some time out of your busy day just for you. If you have to lock yourself in the bathroom to do so ….. do it. Just relax.
Continuing to live this life with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.
Good Morning ALL! How are you this morning? We are fine, not quite as much straight through sleep as I would have liked but that is okay. We will make sure that we head off to bed tonight in better time. Just saw flashing red lights out of my office window and turned my head to see the big GREEN trash/garbage truck. The dark cloud banks lining the southern horizon appear to be mountains with pale blue skies above. How very beautiful. A great morning sky. Not often the clouds arrange themselves like this but when they do it is truly magnificent. We had some snow stick from last night and oddly enough the snow that was on the front sidewalks earlier this morning had disappeared when we were up earlier. I did not think it was warm enough to melt. Oh well, it has left. I think that I am going to share some favourite photos this morning. I have no further words that can contend with the beauty of the skies outside.
Our World
My Flowers
More Flowers
Summer Adventure
Willow
Another Adventure
A gift
Photo Shoot
My Flowers
Another Summer
Flowers
Beautiful Place
In Awe
Impatiens
My Roses
My Flowers
My Roses
Park
My pansies
Flowers for Easter ….. Happy Spring.
Perfection
I hope that you enjoy the photos as they remind me of the months to come.
Continuing to live with kindness, respect, compassion and patience.
Good Morning ALL. How are you? I am well and happily settling into my new bras. Happy Woman here. Well last night ….. earlier, much earlier this morning up and down as per our normal routine. It would seem that whenever we go to bed whether early or a bit later we are always up six hours later. That six hour mark could be at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. or anything in between. Depending on the time I either give Mr. Alvin his glucosamine chew OR the chew and breakfast. I don’t want him to have breakfast before 4:00 a.m. Too early. Then we head to the sofa for a few more zzz’s and when we get up depends on whether or not it is during the week or the weekend. What a life! This morning I am going to have a “coffee visit” with my friends Gillian and Signe on TEAMS. So excited to see them and catch up.
I also had a pretty nice surprise when I went into my office (where I am now) to turn on the computer …. I found that my African Violet had some pretty purple flowers. She did not have them yesterday and there are several buds as well. A very deep rich vibrant purple. A royal purple if you will. I cannot remember how long I have had this plant and she has never bloomed but I think that she does like being in the office on my desk. I have placed two smaller Spider plants on the desk beside her for company. Even plants need company. They were babies when I moved them into the office and she was older so a good match, I thought. Miss Violet’s leaves are finally becoming larger and stronger looking. I am so over the moon happy about this plant and all of my plants as they are all doing so well. My Geraniums are blooming …. beautiful pink flowers. Three other plants that I have are also blooming and I am not quite sure what there names are … Since I am home all of the time now, I give them a lot more TLC and they appear to be liking the extra attention. Yesterday morning I spent about one hour fixing them up and moving them about. They do all seem to love the southern exposure whether in my kitchen or in the office. Although yesterday I tried something by moving my large Spider plant to the 1/2 wall that divides the kitchen and living room. I moved Spidy because my plant area is getting so crowded with plants. I will see how Spidy does and if shows signs of stress I will move him back to the window area or perhaps even upstairs to the office where there is more room. My daughter brought me a Poinsettia from her office on Friday thus overfilling the space. So I will keep an eye on them. Plants are so good to have around. I am grateful that several of them seem to bloom all year round. Now I have my beautiful Violet plant blooming. So grateful. Also I have two geraniums that my friend Pauline gave me last fall which are becoming massive in their small pots and need to be transplanted. So I will have to put out a call for someone to pick me up some potting soil and two medium sized pots.
Last night I spent the evening speaking to my friend Linda who lives back home. We worked together, were neighbours and are friends. She recently celebrated a birthday. We chatted about our lives, the world and the pandemic for close to three hours. What a great way to spend a Saturday night. Perfection.
Now this morning I get to chat with two of my girl friends. YAY.
Well time to get dressed and put on the coffee and have breakfast before our get together.
The sky is partially overcast this morning as the sunrises. I love the colours of the morning sky as the sun begins to rise in the sky.
This has been a great weekend thus far. Alvin and I also had the best walk yesterday afternoon. The air was so warm and there was no wind. I could have walked forever. Who would have thought it was almost mid January.
Wishing you a great Sunday.
Continuing to live with kindness, respect and compassion for all.
My New Life @ 51 